Jason O'Mara to star in Fox's prehistoric TV epic

JASON O’Mara is to time-travel once more in Fox’s new prehistoric drama Terra Nova.

The actor, who was last seen as part of the US ensemble of Life on Mars, will play a character named Jim Shannon, who travels back in time with his family to a colony built on prehistoric Earth.

The high concept series includes Steven Spielberg among its executive producers, as well as Brannon Braga and David Fury, who excitedly told trade mag Variety that O’Mara had been their No.1 choice for star. They had actively pursued him, in fact.

Explains Braga: “Writing the character of Jim Shannon, we’ve thought of Jason O’Mara as something of an archetype. He has an everyman quality to him, but there’s something dangerous underneath.”

These comments were echoed by Fury, who added: “I’ve always thought that guy was a star. He just hasn’t found the right property yet.”

Although the US version of Life on Mars was short-lived, O’Mara’s reputation was enhanced as he held his own (and even stood out) in an ensemble that also included Harvey Keitel and Michael Imperioli.

He will next be seen opposite Katherine Heigl in One For The Money, which he’ll start shooting this summer.

Other credits include Marlowe and Spielberg WWII mini-series Band of Brothers.

Terra Nova will follow a group of humans from the year 2149 who are forced to find a way to save the human race.

When they discover a rip in the time-space continuum that can send them back to pre-human Earth, they figure out the best way of doing so is heading back to a time before people even populated the planet. Sounds interesting…